International Direct Deposit (IDD) is a faster, safer, and more reliable way for people residing outside of the United States to receive their monthly payments, where the benefits will be electronically transferred from the U.S. Department of Treasury to your checking or savings account at your financial institution in Panama. It is more convenient than receiving a paper check and you will not depend on the postal service or have to wait between 15 – 28 days to have access to your funds.
All Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Social Security Administration (SSA) beneficiaries as well as Military retirees (DFAS) residing in Panama that are already receiving benefits are eligible to enroll in the International Direct Deposit Program (IDD). If you are not yet receiving benefits, upon receipt of your first paper check you should consider enrolling in this program.
How to Enroll in the International Direct Deposit Program?
If you receive benefits from the Office of Personnel Management or from the Department of Veterans Affairs, you may download and print the form by selecting the agency from which you receive benefits. Once the form has been fully completed and signed by you and the bank you should email it to us as a PDF attachment to Panama-FBU@State.gov.
Once we receive the IDD enrollment form, it could take up to 2 months to become effective.
If you receive benefits from the Social Security Administration, please contact the Social Security Regional Office assigned to Panama which is located in San Jose, Costa Rica by sending an email to FBU.CostaRica@ssa.gov to request an IDD enrollment form.
If you are a military retiree, beneficiary, or survivor, please click here to download the IDD form as well as for information on where you should sent the fully completed and signed form.
When Will I Receive my Payment if I Enroll in International Direct Deposit?
If you receive benefits from OPM, please note that payments are always made the first business day of the month and the benefits should be available in your account by the second business day.
If you receive benefits from the VA, payments are the first of the month, unless the first is a non-business day, when the payment date will be changed to the last business day of the previous month. The benefits should be available in your account by the first or second business day depending on when the benefits are paid.
